"Well, come in and get that clown suit off you," said Mrs. Brown. "Then tell us all about it. What made you run away?"
"I was afraid that man would get me," said Ben.
"Why should he want to get you?" asked Daddy Brown.
"Because I ran away from his circus where I used to do tricks," Ben answered. "That's my secret. I used to be a regular circus performer, but I couldn't stand it any longer, and I ran away. I didn't want you to know it, so I didn't tell you. But that man, who came into the tent when I was doing the same jump I used to do in the regular circus—that man knew me. I thought he had come to take me back, and I didn't want to go. So I ran away."
"You poor boy!" said Grandma Brown.
There came a knock on the door, and when Mrs. Brown opened it there stood the same man from whom Ben had run away the day before.
"Oh, you're back again I see!" said the man.
Ben dropped his knife and fork on his plate, and looked around for a place to hide. Everyone was silent, waiting for what would happen next.